Ducks News

Ducks 4, Red Wings 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Anaheim Ducks used second period power play goals by Ryan Getzlaf, Shane O'Brien and Chris Kunitz to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Wednesday at Honda Center.

Corey Perry added an even strength marker and two assists and JS Giguere stopped 21 shots in the game for the Ducks to move Anaheim's record to 4-0-2 on the young season.

"We have good players on paper, but to do it on the ice is a different thing," said Giguere. "There are a lot of teams that look good on paper. Right now we've got a good start and we've just got to keep going."

The Anaheim power play was operating at 26.9% (4th in the NHL) coming into the contest and that dominance continued against the Wings. After failing on four power play attempts in the first period, the Ducks used four more in the second to take a 3-0 lead after two periods.

"(The power play) was great, especially against a team like that," said Getzlaf. "They're a talented hockey club over there and if we can put forth an effort like that, it's great. We worked hard, guys were skating and not taking it easy."

Getzlaf started the Ducks' second period power play onslaught at 8:46. The sophomore center made a quick move to get past Detroit's Dan Cleary and fired a wrist shot by Dominik Hasek from the top of the left circle.

Anaheim beat Hasek again from long range when O'Brien rifled a wrist shot from his right point position through traffic at 10:26 of the second period. The power play goal was O'Brien's first career NHL marker.

"It's a lifelong dream to get one in the show and I did it," said O'Brien. "It hasn't really sunk in yet. It's even better when the team can get a win. We played great tonight and we're moving forward."

Kunitz gave the Ducks a 3-0 lead at 18:13 of the second period. Defenseman Francois Beauchemin faked a slap shot from the left point and fired the puck into the opposite corner. Perry picked up the puck and put it on net. Kunitz redirected the puck in for his fourth goal of the season.

Perry added a goal for Anaheim at 13:40 of the third period. The winger worked a rebound past Hasek for his third goal of the season to give Anaheim a 4-0 lead.

Tomas Kopecky got the Red Wings on the board less than a minute later at 14:24 of the third period to spoil Giguere's shutout bid.

The Ducks' five game homestand wraps up Friday against the Minnesota Wild at 7:05 p.m. at Honda Center.

"We feel we can play the game at a higher level than we've been playing," said Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle. "There are still areas of improvement. It's nice to see our younger guys get an opportunity and take advantage of it."

NOTES: Carlyle mixed up the forward lines during even-strength situations. The lines were Teemu Selanne-Todd Marchant-Dustin Penner, Ryan Shannon-Andy McDonald-Todd Fedoruk, Perry-Getzlaf-Kunitz. Only the line of Rob Niedermayer-Samuel Pahlsson-Travis Moen remained the same from the first five games...O'Brien picked up the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the contest with Anaheim's second goal, an assist on Perry's goal and a brief second period tussle with the Wings' Brad Norton....With a goal and two assists, Perry recorded his first multiple-point game of the season and first two-assist game of his career. It also ties his career-high for points in a game (Jan. 28, 2006 @ Los Angeles).

GAME LOG - FINAL - ANAHEIM 4, DETROIT 1

20:00 - END OF GAME - ANA 4, DET 1. Final Shots - ANA 31, DET 22.

16:01 - DET PEN - Henrik Zetterberg goes off for tripping.

15:26 - ANA PEN - Samuel Pahlsson gets 2 for hooking.

14:24 - DETROIT GOAL - TOMAS KOPECKY (1). Kopecky gets a rebound in front of Giguere and puts it five-hole to score the first goal of his career. The goal is Kopecky from Cleary and Norton.

13:40 - ANAHEIM GOAL - COREY PERRY (3). Perry picked up a rebound off a Shane O'Brien shot and beat Hasek for his third goal of the season. The goal is Perry from O'Brien and Getzlaf.

10:38 - ANA PEN - Todd Fedoruk - hooking minor.

8:00 - ANA PEN - Chris Pronger - 2 minutes for interference.

4:22 - DET PEN - Jason Williams is off for roughing. Anaheim is now on their ninth power play of the night.

3:18 - Shane O'Brien and Brad Norton get into a quick fight to the left of JS Giguere. The fight ends as O'Brien wrestles Norton down. The penalties are fighting majors for both. O'Brien now needs only an assist to complete the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.

0:00 - 3rd period is under way.

2ND PERIOD

20:00 - END OF 2ND PERIOD. ANA 3, DET 0. One thing is becoming clear - opposing teams should try to stay out of the penalty box against the Ducks nevermind give the Ducks eight power plays in two periods of hockey. The Ducks used four power plays in the second period to score three goals and take a 3-0 lead in the game. The Ducks also have a commanding lead in shots on goal - 23-13 - after two periods. By comparison the Red Wings are 0/4 on the power play in the contest. Ducks rookie defenseman Shane O'Brien picked up the second power play goal of the game, his first career NHL goal.

18:13 - ANAHEIM GOAL - POWER PLAY - CHRIS KUNITZ (4). Francois Beauchemin fakes a slapper from the left point and fires the puck into the opposite corner. Corey Perry picks up the puck in the corner and fires it at the net. Kunitz redirects it in for his fourth of the season at Perry and Beauchemin.

11:06 - ANA PEN - Sean O'Donnell goes off for roughing. O'Donnell tangles with Johan Franzen and connects a hard right hand to his face. Franzen did not respond but gets five minutes for fighting. O'Donnell also picks up the fighting major.

10:26 - ANAHEIM GOAL - POWER PLAY - SHANE O'BRIEN (1). O'Brien rifles a low wrist shot from the right point through traffic and past Hasek. The goals is O'Brien's first career NHL goal from Selanne and McDonald.

9:06 - DET PEN - Danny Markov is called for holding the stick.

8:46 - ANAHEIM GOAL - POWER PLAY - RYAN GETZLAF (2). Getzlaf makes a nice move to get around Dan Cleary and fires a wrist shot past Hasek - low stick side. The goal is Getzlaf from Kunitz and Perry on the power play.

7:01 - DET PEN - Kris Draper gets the gate for boarding.

1:27 - ANA PEN - Ryan Getzlaf goes off for boarding. Detroit will have five seconds of 4-on-3 and then 1:16 of 4-on-4 hockey.

0:48 - DET PEN - Mathieu Schneider goes off for holding. The teams will skate 4-on-4 for 44 seconds and then Anaheim will go on their fifth power play.

0:00 - Start of 2nd period.

1ST PERIOD

20:00 - END OF 1ST PERIOD. ANA 0, DET 0. The Ducks and Red Wings skate to a scoreless but not uneventful first period. Anaheim takes over the edge in shots on goal - 10-9 - thanks in part to four power plays including a two-man-advantage situation. Anaheim also had a goal called back in the period as the right post was dislodged allowing Teemu Selanne to slip a puck past Hasek. The Red Wings will begin the second period with 1:31 remaining on Beauchemin's minor penalty.

19:30 - ANA PEN - Francois Beauchemin is called for roughing with 30 seconds to go in the period.

16:26 - DET PEN - Andreas Lilja goes off for tripping. Anaheim now has a two-man advantage for approximately one minute.

15:49 - DET PEN - Mathieu Schneider is called for interference.

15:49 - With the teams skating 4-on-4 and a delayed penalty coming on Detroit, Teemu Selanne gets a pass at the side of the Red Wings net. The Finnish Flash makes a quick move and flips a backhand past Hasek. The play is reviewed upstairs to determine that the net was off at the time. NO GOAL FOR ANAHEIM - the right post was off its mooring.

9:15 -Both clubs have had sustained pressure in the other's offensive zone. The Red Wings are holding a shots advantage - 7-2 - in the early going. Detroit killed the Ducks power play without Anaheim registering a shot.

3:55 - DET PEN - Kris Draper goes off for interference. This is Anaheim's first power play. The Ducks are 26.9% on the PP (4th NHL) and Detroit is killing at a 84.6% clip (T-15th NHL)

2:04 - Head coach Randy Carlyle has in fact switched up the forward lines. The only line that hasn't changed is the R. Niedermayer-Pahlsson-Moen combo who started the game. Selanne is now paired with Marchant and Penner - that line had great sustained pressure in their first shift with two scoring chances. Other lines are Perry-Getzlaf-Kunitz and Fedoruk-McDonald-Shannon.